Rainy Day.

We Slide Into The End Of The Week ...... with the gray and gross weather outside seriously affecting our mood. Today would be far better spent at home with a book and maybe some Velvet Underground on the hi-fi.But, like the U.S. Postal Service not rain, nor sleet, nor snow, nor gloomy rock music can keep us from our appointed rounds. The rest of today's news starts after the jump.

The Other Capitol Hill ...With his innumerable clan looking on, U.S. Sen. Hermetic Bob took the oath of office yesterday, our man in Washington, Josh Drobnyk, reports this morning.
Staying true to form, one of Casey's first official acts was to bore the bejeezus out of a hoard of reporters after he participated in a mock swearing-in ceremony at the old Senate chambers."It's a day of change," he droned. "It's also a day of renewal because when you take the oath of office you renew your commitment to public service and I think that I and so many other senators are renewing our commitment to getting the people's business done."The mock swearing-in ceremony was presided over by Vice President Dick Cheney who glowered, and then shot each new senator in the face in some bizarre initiation rite.Meanwhile, over in the House, U.S. Rep. Patrick "The Only" Murphy also took the oath of office and then toddled off to do an interview with ABC News anchor Charles Gibson.
Five busloads of supporters came to celebrate with Murphy, 33, of
Bristol Township, Bucks County, who spent most of his day racing back and forth between the
Capitol and his legislative office. ''It's been a long journey since Baghdad,'' Murphy, an Iraq War vet, said, choking
back tears as he hustled to cast his first vote in late yesterday afternoon. ''I
want all those soldiers to know that I'll be fighting every day for
them.''

Well This Can't Be Good.Philly Rep. Rosita Youngblood said she found a bullet hole in her car and claims the gunman knew whose car he was targeting, the Associated Press reports this morning.Youngblood, D-Philadelphia, tells the AP that the bullet hit her car's rear door, went through the vehicle and shattered a speaker. There were no injuries, though her stereo now sounds awful. The car was parked on the street in front of her northwest Philadelphia home.Philly police responded around 5:50 p.m. on Wednesday. Cops said Thursday that no arrests have been made.Now, we're not conspiracy theorists, but Youngblood was one of three Dems who voted against Denny O'Brien for speaker this week. And there are some pro-gun types in her caucus. Hmmm ....But We Knew That ...Professional sage G. Terry Madonna of Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster says voters shouldn't get too comfortable with Democratic control in the state House. It's still possible that things could change over there.“We’re going to be on a week-by-week watch to see what kind of
permanency -– if at all -– the election of [new state House Speaker] Denny O’Brien has. It is, I
don’t think, the final chapter,” Madonna tells KYW Newsradio in Philly today. In Case You Were Wondering ...... state Rep. Tina Pickett, R-Bradford, was, like, totally shocked by the results of this week's election for House speaker."It certainly was a surprise," Pickett told her hometown Towanda Daily Review. “I’m waiting to see what his intentions and priorities
will be. It’s a new structure,” Pickett said.And, no, we couldn't pick Pickett out of a police line-up either.

There's A New ...... Senate Republican podcast out today. Someone please listen and tell us what they said. We're only on our first cup of coffee, and we're not sure we'll make it to the end.Wait ... There's Professional Hockey In Pittsburgh?Pittsburgh Penguins owner Mario Lemieux says he's "optimistic" after meeting with local and state officials yesterday that he'll be able to keep his struggling franchise in the Steel City.
Lemieux spoke to reporters after a 75-minute session on Thursday with Gov. Ed, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato and Boy Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, and said the session was "very positive," the Post-Gazette reports this morning. Hockey-boosters in Kansas City have been wooing the Pens, who say they need a new arena to stay put."I've always been very optimistic. I've been
here for 20-some years," Lemieux said when he was asked whether he'd move the team. "But we have to evaluate all of our options,
obviously. That's why we went to Kansas City ... to look at what they
had to offer."But I'm optimistic with the meeting that we had today with the
politicians here in town that they're willing to step up and talk about
some issues that were a big concern for us going back seven years," he said.The Penguins (17-15-6, with 40 points) are in fourth place in the NHL's Atlantic Division. They trail the first-place New Jersey Devils by 10 points, and are 5-4-1 in their last 10 starts.So here's some neat trivia, by the way. Kansas City hasn't had an NHL franchise since 1976, when the old Kansas City Scouts folded up their tents to become the Colorado Rockies. In a curious bit of serendipity, the Rockies later became the Devils. So, the way we figure it, if the Penguins move to Kansas City, that means they could be back on track to becoming Stanley Cup contenders within 20 years.Just kidding ... if we had to root for a PA franchise, it'd definitely be the Pens. And with the way our beloved Carolina Hurricanes have been playing lately, we're not sure there's professional hockey in Raleigh these days either.EdWatch (TM):Gov. Ed's at the Pennsylvania Farm Show dinner tonight, where he's scheduled to speak at 7 p.m. Early recycling of the butter sculpture into bio-diesel is anticipated.

In The Blogosphere:Keystone Politics on the kick-off of this year's Pennsylvania Farm Show; GrassrootsPA on the courtship of the Penguins; Young Philly Politics wants the city of Miami to fire John Timoney as police commissioner ... umm ...; Above Average Jane went to D.C. for swearing-in day yesterday and has her report; PhillyFuture is taking nominations for its next featured 'blog (hint, hint); Tony Phyrillas writes off Denny O'Brien before he even gets started; Gort didn't go to Washington yesterday, but he did watch part of swearing-in day on TV; I've Made A Huge Tiny Mistake gets upset at the sight of A.I. in a Denver Nuggets uniform (there, there); VoicePA on Curt Weldon; Some photos from Truth In Our House; Wonkette on Bush 41's hip replacement surgery; Red State talks to Mitch McConnell; DCist has all the District local news you need; Andrew Sullivan on "The History Boys," and Pandagon has its Friday Random Top 10.On The Capitol Ideas iPod This Morning:As we've already mentioned, it's raining here in Harrisburg this morning. And it's probably raining wherever you are, too.A little Morrissey, please.Nothing else will do.

Friday's Gratuitous Hockey Link:Our beloved Carolina Hurricanes haven't been looking the defending Stanley Cup champs this week. Last night, their run of bad form continued as the 'Canes dropped a 2-0 decision to the visiting Phoenix Coyotes. The 'Canes are now 21-18-4, with 46 points, and remain in second place in the NHL's Southeastern Division, where they trail first-place Atlanta (24-12-6, 54 points) by eight points. The 'Canes are now 6-4-0 in their last 10 starts.